The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-12-01
THE OCTOPUS.
Some Wonderful Stories Of It's
Remarkable Strength.
Not n Rare Sight to SaIIors-They Seldom
Attack Men Unless in Anger-A Ship
Beseiged by the Horrible Creatures.

The great noise and excitement kicked
up in America whenever an octopus is cap
tured, seems queer enough to q sailor who
has voyaged TO tropical countries. From
the Cape Verde Islands clear around the
coast of Africa to the Gulf of Alden, the
devil fish can be found in all the bights and
bays. You can find him in the Indian
Ocean, New Zealand Sea, Coral Sea-among
all the Islands lying about New Guinea
He abounds in the Mediterranean Sea and
Pacific Ocean, and have seen him in all
the waters from Cuba down to Cape Horn,
and up the other side of Brazil to the
Isthmus of Panama. He is by no means a
rare sight to sailors, and the fact that he is
not dreaded, like the shark, is because in
stances are rare where he attacks man. l
do not believe the hideous monster ever at
tacks human beings from hunger. The sea
is full of their sort Of food and nature
never expected them to prey on the flesh
and bones of tough old salt. have read
end heard it often asserted that the octopus
sucks the blood and devours the flesh of the
man unfortunate enough to be entrapped
In those awful arms, but can prove to the
contrary. Ny experience with the terrible
creatures has also gone to prove that they
seldom or never attack a person unless
their anger is excited.
In 1865 was one of the crew Of the
American bark Henry Castle, which made
a voyage to the Java Sea and called at sew
eral of the larger islands. One dav, while
the ship was lying in the outer harbor of
Samarang, Island of Java, two of US pulled
the Captain ashore in the gig We landed
him on a rocky point, from whence he took
a short cut across TO the town, and were
- ~.
shipmate, whose name was Thurber
stretched out for nap as soon as the Capt
ain had gone, while got out on the point
20 have a look around. The water was
pretty deep alongside the boat, and by and
10y, full of a sailors deviltry, picked up a
large rock and heaved it into the water
with great splash. calculated on SEEING
Thurber start up in alarm, but he only
laughed at my effort. Then set out to wet
him with a splash, and flung five or six
other rocks as large as l could handle. I
was hunting for yet another and had nv
back to the boat and the water when some.
thing brushed past my head. made a lean
aside and wheeled around. In the two
seconds thus occupied decided that Thur
ber had thrown some missile at me. and
laughed as turned about.
The laugh, however, died away in shout
OF terror. An octopus with a body as larOa
as a beer keg had risen to the surface and
partly pulled itself on the rocks. and its
half dozen terrible arms were iying about
like so many whip lashes. 1t had flung one
OF them at me and missed its aim. AL
though was now thirty feet away, it CON-
tinued to fling two or three feelers in INV
direction, but none of them could reach
me within fifteen feet The two longest
arms were from fifteen to eighteen feet
long, and the shorter ones from eight To
ten
III could have restrained myself for a
Few minutes the monster would no doubt
have sunk beneath the waters again. but
the awful stare of its great eyes, the sight
of the terrible beak, the squirmiEg of those
horrible feelers as they tried in vain to
touch me, made me cry out loudly. /
might have known that could make no
headwsy against the monster with the
means at hand, but, acting on the impulse
of the moment, picked up a good-sized
rock and flung it with certain aim at the
pulpish body. 1t was at this moment that
Thurber rose up in the boat to see what
was going on. The creature didn't see him
at first, being entireiy occupied in trying
90 get me into its clutches. Ibelieye Thur
Der could have pushed the boat of and
foated away in safety, but he also acted on
the first impulse. Lifting up one of the
heavy oars he dealt the octopus a heavy
blow, no doubt infiicting severe injury. He
was raising the oar for second blow,